meridian

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Me·rid·i·an

(mə-rĭd′ē-ən)

A city of eastern Mississippi near the Alabama border east of Jackson. A confederate base during the Civil War, it developed as a railroad junction.

meridian

me·rid·i·an

(mə-rĭd′ē-ən)

a. An imaginary great circle on the earth's surface passing through the North and South geographic poles.

b. Either half of such a great circle from pole to pole. All points on the same meridian have the same longitude.

2. Astronomy A great circle passing through the two poles of the celestial sphere and the zenith of a given observer. Also called celestial meridian, local meridian, vertical circle.

3. Mathematics

a. A curve on a surface of revolution, formed by the intersection of the surface with a plane containing the axis of revolution.

b. A plane section of a surface of revolution containing the axis of revolution.

4. Any of the longitudinal lines or pathways on the body along which the acupuncture points are distributed.

5. Archaic

a. The highest point in the sky reached by the sun or another celestial body; a zenith.

b. The time at which the sun reaches its highest point in the sky; noon.

6. The highest point or stage of development; peak: "Men come to their meridian at various periods of their lives" (John Henry Newman).

7. Midwestern US See median.

adj.

1. Of or relating to a meridian; meridional.

2. Of or at midday: the meridian hour.

3. Of, relating to, or constituting the highest point, as of development or power: the empire in its meridian period.

[Middle English, from Old French, midday, from Latin merīdiānus, of midday, from merīdiēs, midday, from merīdiē, at midday, alteration of earlier *medīdiē, from *mediei diē : *mediei, dative (locative) of medius, middle; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots + diē, dative of diēs, day; see dyeu- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

meridian

(məˈrɪdɪən)

1. (Physical Geography)

a. one of the imaginary lines joining the north and south poles at right angles to the equator, designated by degrees of longitude from 0° at Greenwich to 180°

b. the great circle running through both poles. See prime meridian

2. (Astronomy) astronomy

a. the great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the north and south celestial poles and the zenith and nadir of the observer

b. (as modifier): a meridian instrument.

3. (Mathematics) maths Also called: meridian section a section of a surface of revolution, such as a paraboloid, that contains the axis of revolution

4. the peak; zenith: the meridian of his achievements.

5. (Complementary Medicine) (in acupuncture, etc) any of the channels through which vital energy is believed to circulate round the body

6. (Historical Terms) obsolete noon

adj

7. (Physical Geography) along or relating to a meridian

8. of or happening at noon

9. relating to the peak of something

[C14: from Latin merīdiānus of midday, from merīdiēs midday, from medius mid¹ + diēs day]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

me•rid•i•an

(məˈrɪd i ən)

n.

a. a great circle of the earth passing through the poles and any given point on the earth's surface.

b. the half of such a circle included between the poles.

2. the great circle of the celestial sphere that passes through its poles and the observer's zenith.

3. a point or period of highest development, greatest prosperity, or the like.

adj.

4. of or pertaining to a meridian.

5. of or indicating a period of greatest attainment.

6. of or pertaining to noon.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin merīdiānus of noon =merīdi(ēs) midday + -ānus -an¹]

me·rid·i·an

(mə-rĭd′ē-ən)

a. An imaginary line forming a great circle that passes through the North and South Poles.

b. Either half of such a circle from pole to pole. All the places on the same meridian have the same longitude. See more at equator.

2. Astronomy A great circle passing through the poles of the celestial sphere and the point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

meridian

1. a great circle that passes through the earth’s poles and any other given point on the earth’s surface.
2. half of such a circle.
3. any line of longitude running north and south on a map. See also astronomy. — meridian, meridional, adj.

meridian

A line of longitude passing between the poles at right angles to the equator.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	meridian - the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development; "his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty"; "the artist's gifts are at their acme"; "at the height of her career"; "the peak of perfection"; "summer was at its peak"; "...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame"; "the summit of his ambition"; "so many highest superlatives achieved by man"; "at the top of his profession" acme, summit, tiptop, superlative, elevation, height, pinnacle, peak, top degree, stage, level, point - a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process; "a remarkable degree of frankness"; "at what stage are the social sciences?"
	2.	Meridian - a town in eastern Mississippi Magnolia State, Mississippi, MS - a state in the Deep South on the gulf of Mexico; one of the Confederate States during the American Civil War
	3.	meridian - an imaginary great circle on the surface of the earth passing through the north and south poles at right angles to the equator; "all points on the same meridian have the same longitude" line of longitude great circle - a circular line on the surface of a sphere formed by intersecting it with a plane passing through the center observer's meridian - a meridian that passes through the observer's zenith prime meridian - meridian at zero degree longitude from which east and west are reckoned (usually the Greenwich longitude in England) magnetic meridian - an imaginary line passing through both magnetic poles of the Earth
Adj.	1.	meridian - of or happening at noon; "meridian hour"
	2.	meridian - being at the best stage of development; "our manhood's prime vigor"- Robert Browning prime mature - having reached full natural growth or development; "a mature cell"

meridian

noun

The highest point or state:

acme, apex, apogee, climax, crest, crown, culmination, height, peak, pinnacle, summit, top, zenith.

Informal: payoff.

Medicine: fastigium.

Translations

خَط الزَّوال، خَط طول

poledník

længdegradmeridian

Längengrad Meridian

μεσημβρινός

méridien

délkörmeridián

hádegisbaugur

meridiano il meridiano di Greenwich

meridianas

meridiāns

lengdegrad

poludník

meridyen

子午线

meridian

[məˈrɪdɪən] N

1. (Astron, Geog) → meridiano m

2. (fig) → cenit m, auge m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

meridian

[məˈrɪdiən] n → méridien m

meridian

n (Astron, Geog) → Meridian m; (fig) → Höhepunkt m, → Gipfel m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

meridian

[məˈrɪdɪən] n → meridiano

meridian

(məˈridiən) noun

an imaginary line on the earth's surface passing through the poles and any given place; any line of longitude.

me·rid·i·an

n. meridiano, línea imaginaria que conecta los extremos opuestos del axis en la superficie de un cuerpo esférico.

References in classic literature ?

"Last summer I went, as you know, to pass the hot weather term in the town of Meridian. The relative at whose house I had intended to stay was ill, so I sought other quarters.

View in context

At this moment the sun passed the meridian. Barbicane, after a few moments, rapidly wrote down the result of his observations, and said:

View in context

"What's the good of Mercator's North Poles and Equators, Tropics, Zones, and Meridian Lines?" So the Bellman would cry: and the crew would reply "They are merely conventional signs!

View in context

They fill my soul with Beauty (which is Hope), And are far up in Heaven -- the stars I kneel to In the sad, silent watches of my night; While even in the meridian glare of day I see them still -- two sweetly scintillant Venuses, unextinguished by the sun!

View in context

Natures that have much heat, and great and violent desires and perturbations, are not ripe for action, till they have passed the meridian of their years; as it was with Julius Caesar and Septimius Severus.

View in context

"Yes," he continued, with a contemptuous smile, "the blowing up of the first meridian is bound to raise a howl of execration."

View in context

This famous timepiece, always regulated on the Greenwich meridian, which was now some seventy-seven degrees westward, was at least four hours slow.

View in context

And just as the conclusions of the astronomers would have been vain and uncertain if not founded on observations of the seen heavens, in relation to a single meridian and a single horizon, so would my conclusions be vain and uncertain if not founded on that conception of right, which has been and will be always alike for all men, which has been revealed to me as a Christian, and which can always be trusted in my soul.

View in context

I cannot help promising myself, from such a dawn, that the meridian of this youth will be equal to that of either the elder or the younger Brutus."

View in context

Far to the south the sun climbed steadily to meridian, but between it and the frozen Yukon intervened the bulge of the earth.

View in context

"I am abroad at night, my good girl, because the earth in its diurnal revolutions leaves the light of the sun but half the time on any given meridian, and because what I have to do cannot be performed in twelve or fifteen consecutive hours.

View in context

The 20th of July, the tropic of Capricorn was cut by 105d of longitude, and the 27th of the same month we crossed the Equator on the 110th meridian. This passed, the frigate took a more decided westerly direction, and scoured the central waters of the Pacific.